unworthy

adjective un·wor·thy \ ˌən-ˈwər-t͟hē \

|Updated on: 9 Jul 2018

Definition of unworthy

1 a : lacking in excellence or value : poor, worthless

b : base, dishonorable

2 : not meritorious : undeserving

unworthy of attention

3 : not deserved : unmerited

unworthy treatment

4 : inappropriate to one's condition or station

actions unworthy of a gentleman

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unworthily

play \ˌən-ˈwər-t͟hə-lē\ adverb

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unworthiness

play \ˌən-ˈwər-t͟hē-nəs\ noun

See unworthy defined for English-language learners

See unworthy defined for kids

Recent Examples of unworthy from the Web

Paul Bender, an Arizona State University law professor and dean emeritus for the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, said the memos were unworthy of serious consideration.

— yvonne wingett sanchez, azcentral, "Joe Arpaio asks AG Jeff Sessions to investigate his 2016 defeat in sheriff's race," 21 June 2018
Most of all, Iskra says that the mirror challenge is about undoing what society has told us is worth or unworthy about ourselves.

— elly belle, Teen Vogue, "Iskra Lawrence’s New Makeover Show "The Mirror Challenge" Is About Self-Love," 6 June 2018
My husband, Dave, declared me unworthy of the task and tackled it himself.

— murr brewster, The Christian Science Monitor, "Attack of the purple ‘bean trees’," 6 June 2018
There was a time colleges would just write off preachers like Rusfeldt as cranks unworthy of attention.

— dan spinelli, Philly.com, "He was a competitive snowboarder accused of defrauding investors. Now this Christian preacher has area colleges on edge," 11 May 2018
The case reached the Supreme Court for the first time in 2016, and the Justices said that the rule was procedurally defective and thus unworthy of the judicial deference that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals had allowed.

— the editorial board, WSJ, "A Second Kick of the Ninth Circuit," 2 Apr. 2018
But a representative of the track’s ownership still rained on our rain with another salvo of sound bites about how Pimlico is unworthy of further investment.

— dan rodricks, baltimoresun.com, "On Pimlico and Preakness, let's 'Do It Now!'," 25 May 2018
Salles’s film is a much lesser thing, but by no means unworthy.

— mark feeney, BostonGlobe.com, "Looking back on the upheaval of the ’60s," 15 May 2018
There’s a whole class of iPhone owners out there who think that Android is laggy, dated, and ugly software unworthy of a modern user’s time.

— vlad savov, The Verge, "What do we even mean when we say ‘Android’?," 11 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'unworthy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of unworthy

13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

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UNWORTHY Defined for English Language Learners

unworthy

adjective

Definition of unworthy for English Language Learners

: not good enough to deserve something or someone : not worthy
: not appropriate or acceptable for a good or respected person

UNWORTHY Defined for Kids

unworthy

adjective un·wor·thy \ ˌən-ˈwər-t͟hē \

Definition of unworthy for Students

unworthier; unworthiest

1 : not deserving someone or something

He's unworthy of such praise.

2 : not appropriate for a particular kind of person or thing

That behavior is unworthy of you.

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unworthiness

\-t͟hē-nəs\ noun

Law Dictionary

unworthy

adjective un·wor·thy

legal Definition of unworthy

: not meritorious; specifically, in the civil law of Louisiana : being or relating to an heir who is deprived of the right to inherit from a person because of a failure in a duty towards the person

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